Grey’s Anatomy Season 10: Dexter's James Remar Is Alex Karev's Estranged Father — When Will He Appear? (UPDATE)

Update: TV Guidereveals that James Remar will pop up "early in the season" in an article about the show's 200th episode, leading us to believe that he'll start his multi-episode arc the installment airing this Thursday, October 10 — Season 10, Episode 4: "Puttin' on the Ritz." (He'll definitely be in Episodes 5 and 6.)

"It's a chance for Alex (Justin Chambers) to figure out who he is as a man," creator Shonda Rhimes tells the outlet.

Elaborates Justin: "The next few episodes are kind of heavy for Alex, but Jo's (Camilla Luddington) going to help him through it."

Update (September 13, 2013): Dexter's father is shifting gears from the Kill Room to Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital. Star James Remar revealed he will be playing Alex Karev's estranged father on Grey's Anatomy Season 10 at the PaleyFest farewell to Dexter on September 12, also dishing he'll be "playing a junkie" on the hit medical drama.

So, could this mean that his character is really Bill, the "likable jazz musician in his 50s who has been somewhat ravaged by drug abuse"? That role was cast around the time James signed on to Grey's, after all. If so, Bill appears in roughly five episodes, meaning Karev may be able to bond with his father.

Only time will tell, but fingers crossed James's character sticks around Grey Sloan alive longer than Harry Morgan did on Dexter. (Spoiler alert: Dexter's dad was only seen alive in flashbacks throughout the show's eight seasons.)

Original story (August 16, 2013):

From a show that focuses on ending lives to one all about saving them, Dexter star James Remar is checking into Grey's Anatomy for Season 10. There's only one catch: We have no idea who he'll be playing.

All TVLine can report, in fact, is that he'll appear in a multi-episode arc starting early in Season 10, which kicks off on ABC Sept. 26 at 9 p.m. ET.

James may be best known to TV viewers from his eight seasons on Dexter, in which he plays the titular serial killer's dead father, Harry Morgan, who continues to be his son's moral compass — broken though that compass may be!

The 59-year-old actor is also known for playing Samantha's boyfriend Richard on Sex and the City. On the big screen, James has recently appeared in RED, X-Men: First Class, and Django Unchained.